BACOLOD City – Cadiz City’s “super lola” celebrated her 109th birthday on May 28.
Visitacion Victorama Contenido, or “Lola Visitacion” to family, friends and village mates at Purok Awa, Barangay Zone 6, Cadiz City, Negros Occidental, was born on May 28, 1916 in Barangay Bulanon, Sagay City.
Lola Visitacion and her family have been living in Cadiz for the past 32 years.
She has 12 children – seven from her first marriage and five from her second husband.
With poverty constantly knocking on their door, she did everything she could to survive and raised her obese family.
She used to be a traditional/unlicensed midwife, or paltera. But when she wasn’t attending births, she would sell vegetables, fish, and seashells.
Despite her age, and almost bedridden, still, Lola Visitacion has no maintenance medicines. But she lost her sense of hearing.
Asked about her secret to longevity, she replied: “I eat everything whatever available on the table.”
On February 14 this year, Lola Visitacion was honored during the 2025 Recognition and Awarding Ceremony of Octogenarians, Nonagenarians, and Centenarians held at Cadiz Arena.
Though she failed to attend, her children and grandchildren proudly received the award on her behalf.
She received P100,000 from the Cadiz City Government through Republic Act No. 10868, also known as the Centenarian Act of 2016, which grants financial recognition to Filipinos aged 100 and above.
She also received P100,000 from the Negros Occidental Provincial Government — a tribute to a life of dignity and service.
Cadiz City’s Mayor Salvador Escalante Jr. was beyond proud of Lola Visitacion, saying, “She was indeed a living legacy that poverty is not a hindrance to longevity.”
Lola Visitacion’s perseverance amid life’s challenges made her a real heroine, he said.
“She is indeed a Cadizeña; a warrior against life’s odds, thus, a tested and proven survivor of so many disasters in life,” the mayor added./PN
